GEMEnA's third strand of work is to consider new and revised measures of participation in education and training designed to prepare out-of-school youth and adults for work. Existing federal data collections with survey items on enrollment and participation will benefit from a freshening of questionnaire items to better reflect current trends in delivery (including the expansion of on-line learning) and expanded policy interest related to federal and state investments in education and training for work. To begin this strand, GEMEnA commissioned a background paper to describe the two main types of education and training for work that occur outside of traditional credit-bearing postsecondary education: non-credit coursework and formal on-the-job training. Based on this background paper, and in consultation with experts, GEMEnA has identified a set of key research and policy issues. These key issues are guiding the strand 3 item development and review process. Along with the first two stands of work, this strand will support the development of a new federal household survey focusing on education, training, and credentials (described in strand 4).
As in strands 1 and 2, the item development process for Strand 3 began with a series of focus groups, in this case with adults who have participated in work-related education or training within the past year. A report on these focus groups will be available by fall 2013.
